I have been fortunate to visit Gir National Park & Lion Sanctuary on 2 occasions, first in November 2008 which was the annual get-together of members of Indianaturewatch.com and more recently in May 2012 which was a camp organised by Bombay Natural History Society(BNHS). the visits were during different seasons so you get to see Gir in different colours.

Mammal Life of Gir

Soon after our bonanza with the Lion, we found this Prince of the jungle a full grown male leopard bound across the road that startled us all. Gir has a healthy population of leopards, perhaps the highest in any national park. In sharp contrast to the Lion or tiger, the Leopard is a comparatively shy and cunning animal that is scared of human activity. However, that makes him a lot more difficult to see and even more dangerous.So this was a real bonus after the Lion sighting. Here he is crouching between the trees watching us carefully in hunting mode, before he suddenly springs up and bounds into the jungle. Now that made our day!

Other mammals were a fleeting glance of the Black-naped Hare, Indian Grey Mongoose, Blue Bull (Nilgai), and lots of spotted deer and Sambar. An interesting sight to see these two male Spotted deer in combat when suddenly another large male came on the scene and they immediately stopped their battle in deference to authority.